ordinary comforts

                How did you survive your darkest hours? Did you run away from everything? Did you deny the truth? Or, perhaps, your fellow friends and family members reach into the darkest and pull you out of the dark? Once in a while, we as human, find our self struggling through some sort of torture, downfall or torment. Some will reach out for help while others give up. The fortunate one will have companions that will support them through their dark time. I find myself stuck with little options sometimes. Mainly, as a student, from financial and scarce of time. My mother is my shinning light. She would lend a hand to help babysit my daughter as a go to class or work. For the financial problem, I would have to work myself outside of school. During stressful time, I would find myself in front of the computer playing games to release me from the stress.

                In Bessie Head’s novel, A Question of Power, Elizabeth struggles through darkness in hoping to find salvation. Within herself, she is fighting of what she called hell. If you follow my blog from last week, Elizabeth find herself sometime being verbally abuse by Medusa or Dan. She would sometime receiving threats from them both. She did not make her journey from hell alone. In order to escape or find standing ground in her inner visions, she have her son and friends to pull her back to everyday reality. Beside from her fellow campaninion, she also have her garden which she tends to release her from the surreal world she so desperately trying to escape.

                Elizabeth has many companions who comfort her during her darkest hours. Shorty is Elizabeth’s son “who provides timely reminders of hoer motherly responsibilities” (Burton 73). On his returning from school, with great excitement, he dived under his couch bed for his small school suitcase… ‘while’ Elizabeth was setting the supper food on the table” (Head 125). Shorty’s little action like excitement from school provided the necessary mother and son bond. There are also others who help her out through her darkest hours.

                Elizabeth was suffering from the damage caused by Medusa and Dan. She gave up hope while in the hospital. Her friend, Tom, did not give up on her though. On the brinks of suicide, Tom comfort Elizabeth with simple words. “Her soul-death was really over in that instant…He seemed to have, in an intangible way, seen her sitting inside tat coffin, reached down and pulled her out…She was poised from that moment to make the great leap out of hell” (Head 188). Tom is Elizabeth lever. Just when Elizabeth have given up hope Tom reach into her helpless soul to show her the light. She uses the opportunity and leap out of hell.

                Elizabeth’s place of comfort and escape from her surreal world is her garden. She feels that everyone is a gardener at heart like it is their nature. Elizabeth is able to bring a fruit, Cape Gooseberry, which is not possible to grow in her climate and soil. The co-operation that she is in is specifically design plant the fruit in her climate that does not belong there. She manages to create the hybrid fruit in her yard. “she had planted out fifty seedlings. Over a period of three months, they had slowly developed into shrubs, two feet high” (Head 152). She feels relax as she is in her garden It release her form from stress and act her light when she is in hell. She would find herself in her garden working to avoid the threats from her visions.

                All of use at one point have problems. Some of us spend time alone trying to cope from stress while some are pulled out with a helping hand from friends. Elizabeth has her garden and I have my computer games. Elizabeth have her boy and Tom and I have my daughter and Mom. Sometime we need someone average, normal or ordinary that will help us through the darkest hours. Elizabeth have all the necessary companions to be her lever through hell as I have mine.